Useless Child
by NekuSakuraba101
Summary: AU. Hiyori is a solemn girl who has lived alone most of her life due to her busy and hardworking mother. Hibiya is a mostly mute, homeless boy taken in to her school out of pity and who can't do anything. So Hiyori vows to protect him.
1. Lalala, prologue

**So today, according to the date system of the U.S., is Hiyori's birthday. Whoo! **

**I decided to post this because it has her in there and it's her birthday. But then again I feel bad for doing this because this is not a happy story. I repeat, this is not a happy story. I kinda tried to improve my writing in this, putting more description and trying to sound more formal. I don't think it worked out that well though. Anyways, updates for this story will also not be consistent, so sorry about that. This chapter is mainly a prologue and doesn't have any real significance other than starting off the story. It also gives a look into Hiyori's personality for this story. **

**I hope people enjoy what they can of this fic, but in all honesty, I want to make you cry (though that probably won't happen till later on).**

* * *

Again, there was another disruption. Hiyori found it quiet irritating, and the emotion caused her to tap the erasure end of her pencil against the surface of her desk very rapidly. It had been fifteen minutes since her teacher had left class to deal with whatever squabble was happening in the hallway.

Even though Hiyori found the interruption quite annoying, it was also a sort of relief from the pressures of school work, at least for a few minutes. But when it happened more than once, she really would have just liked to continue with work normally. If her mom knew teachers couldn't even control one little disruption she doubted she would even continue the funding she gave for this school.

The noise in the room escalated as students took advantage of their teacher's absence and started talking with their friends. Hiyori didn't have the pleasure of such luxuries, seeing as she didn't have any friends. She had a few acquaintances she was close enough to talk to, but it seemed that all they wanted to talk about was clothes, makeup, and boys. Things Hiyori wasn't particularly interested in. But as she listened to the chattering around her, it seemed almost everyone was talking about what was happening that was causing so much uproar among the school. Hiyori too, was interested as well and strained her ears to listen without trying to make it so obvious. Some thought it was another misbehaving class, though Hiyori doubted that theory very highly. Others thought maybe it was an argument between a teacher and a student, but that didn't quite cover it either. And then most thought it was a fight, which Hiyori could agree with, though exactly what kind of fight, that was the question.

Hiyori sighed, resting her cheek in the hand of her propped up elbow. She stared down at the piece of paper on her desk. Half of it was filled with class notes and the margins were filled with doodles of flowers, lollipops, and Panda bears she had subconsciously drawn in her boredom. Maybe she should have continued to do work, but it wasn't like she was some overachiever, not like her mom wanted her to be.

"Hey Hiyori-chan, did you hear?"

Hiyori looked up from her paper to the girl leaning over her desk. She seemed vaguely familiar, not because she was one of the girls Hiyori usually hung around with, but was probably due to the fact that she was in the same class as her. Though, Hiyori didn't even know the girl's name or was even familiar enough with her for the girl to call her 'chan'.

She, of course, she didn't say any of this, but politely asked, "Hear about what?"

The girl tucked some of her long bangs behind her ear, the motion causing her blonde side ponytail to swish ever so slightly. "About the real cause of these class disruptions." she said. Hiyori just shook her head. "It's apparently about this one kid who came here last month. He's part of this humanity project the school is doing for better publicity because he's homeless. But for the past week he's been getting in a lot of fights with other students, and with each fight it gets even worse."

Hiyori blinked a few times, processing what the girl was saying. She had figured it was a fight or something along those lines, but this was the first time she'd heard about this 'humanity project'. She didn't even know people did that sort of thing anymore. But then again, how was this school supposed to get more money if they didn't try to appeal to the community. Still, Hiyori narrowed her eyes slightly at the girl, wondering if what she was saying was really true at all. "It must be a big deal if they have to call teachers out of their own classrooms." Hiyori commented.

The nameless girl just shrugged. "I don't now. But I heard they might be switching him into this class to try and solve the problem."

In her mind, Hiyori was wondering if that was really the best idea for a situation like this. Transferring him to another class was not going to ensure the fighting would stop, but they probably had to feel like they did something. Still, it might be interesting having a new student, something to observe at least.

Just then, their teacher came bursting in the room through the door. He looked really agitated. His forehead beaded with sweat and his black neck tie was loosened slightly, hanging in front of his white shirt messily. Not a very professional look. After furiously shifting through some papers on his desk he seemed to realize that most of the students were out of their desks.

"Sit down!" he commanded harshly. The girl in front of Hiyori's desk scampered away back to her own seat and so did the others students out of place. Right as everyone sat down, the bell rang. The class of students looked at their teacher expectantly. When the chime of the bell ended he just waved a hand at them. "Just leave." he said. No one seemed to care that despite the homework assignment on the whiteboard, he had never passed the worksheet out for it. Hiyori thought about mentioning this to him, but it seemed pretty useless now that everyone but her was gone. Besides she didn't want to do it anyway. Sure she was responsible but she wasn't stupid.

Hiyori took longer than usual with her things, glancing ever so often at her teacher. She wanted to ask him about what happened, but the stressed look on his face and the desperate way he was still searching though his desk made her rethink her plan. Instead she left the classroom without another word and started to walk back to her empty house.


	2. You're a useless, useless, useless child

Hiyori didn't know what she expected when she found out that that one blonde haired girl was right. For the next day at school, their teacher announced that there would indeed be a new student joining their class the following day or so. As soon as the declaration was made there were whispers among the other students about the new development. Hiyori took all this in with a bored expression. She still held up her opinion before that this was just a way for the teachers to try and avoid bringing other, 'more important' students into the mix, as in ones who actually had families that would not tolerate their children getting in trouble or expelled. The last thing the wanted was for there to be bad publicity in a situation where they were trying to get good publicity for themselves. All they really wanted was for this boy, whoever he was, to just disappear. They had no interest for his well being at all. And then when she saw him, Hiyori was even more certain of this.

Unless he was misplaced in the system, which was not unlikely, he'd have to be at least twelve to make it into her middle school class. Also, judging by his looks, everything she'd heard about him being homeless seemed true. His short, washed out looking brown hair was tangled into thousands of clearly visible knots, radiating with split ends, and bits of dirt, leaves and other pieces of nature wound into the strands.

His clothes weren't in any better shape. The faded blue shirt he wore had a tear down the front of it, along with the many stains covering his once white, hooded vest and tattered brown shorts; he looked like he'd been wearing these clothes for days on end. The only thing on him that seemed even remotely new were the light brown sandals on his feet. Sure they were frayed a bit around the edges, but other than that they were fine. Hiyori considered that they were so new because when the school had discovered him, he probably didn't have a pair of shoes to his name. But if that were true, why wouldn't they provide him with some new, cleaner looking clothes?

Despite the warm brown of his eyes, they seemed rather listless and empty, but if someone were to examine them closer they'd also see they were also filled with much sadness and loss. They went from looking at the gray linoleum floor to glancing briefly over the room full of students. Every once in a while, Hiyori thought she could see them flicker with fear and nervousness.

It also appeared that the talk of fights had held some truth in them as well. Judging by the bandages around half his right arm, the band aids on his left cheek, knee, and forehead, and the dark shadow encircling his left eye, the fights were not like the scuffles she'd seen most kids at this school get into.

Then there was also the bruises sticking out against his sickly pale skin. Involuntarily, Hiyori began counting the number of visible marks she could see from three rows away. She finally had to turn and look away from him as she reached a total of twenty seven, stopping after she counted the two on either side of his neck. He was probably the most skinny, helpless, fragile looking human being she'd ever seen in her life. Hiyori didn't know how they could allow such a person to go to school when it looked like he should be in the hospital.

"Class, this is Amamiya Hibiya." The teacher stood there next to the boy, a smile clearly plastered on his face. He looked nervous and most likely this was the last place he wanted to be. Hiyori couldn't blame him. "He just transferred here from another class, so be kind and welcoming."

The whole class just sat there, blank expressions on most of their faces. There were also a few moments of awkward silence where not even the teacher said anything, but after that he gestured for Hibiya to sit down. Hibiya hesitated for a second before doing as he was gestured to and started walking to the back of the room in search of an empty desk.

Hiyori did watch him from her desk. She watched the way he walked, slow, hesitant, and cautious. He reminded Hiyori of a wounded deer, trying to make its way through life, but knowing it doesn't have a very good chance of survival with it's injury.

It happened so fast Hiyori almost missed it. Hibiya had just passed her desk when someone in one of the other vertical rows stuck their foot out nonchalantly from the desk under their desk and into the aisle. Hibiya obviously didn't see this for he ended up tripping over it, falling, and landing hard on the classroom floor with a loud thud. Hiyori silently gasped, her mouth gaping slightly in surprise. A few other students audibly gasped, some murmured, and others looked like they were trying to constrain their laughter but were near failure.

Hibiya made no quick move to get up. Instead he laid there for a second or two before slowly leaning up on his forearms and lifting his head up. He looked around, as if in a daze. Then he slowly picked himself off the ground. A sniffling noise emanated from him and Hiyori was sure if she could see his face rather than his back, his eyes would be pooling with tears. No one helped him, no one asked him if he was injured, and once he got up he walked over to an empty seat, sat in it, and then his stare went down to the smooth surface of the desk.

Even though Hiyori was sympathetic and felt bad for him, she had to be honest with herself, he was kind of pathetic. The poor boy couldn't even stand up for himself. She would have thought living on the streets would have made him tougher, but instead he was, to put in blunt terms, a crybaby. He only got tripped _once_ and he was already sniveling.

Yet even with all these thoughts, Hiyori found herself turning around just to get a glimpse of this new student from her desk. Despite the person behind her, with their head in the way, she saw his face holding drying tracks from tears as he avoided everyone else's gaze and continued to stare down at his own hands in his lap.


	3. You're a destitute,dense,and dirty child

It took Hiyori only two days of observing Hibiya before discovering that he was completely useless.

Nothing really happened the first day he came, so she didn't count that day. But the second day, when he was asked to come up to the board to solve a problem, she noticed it. He was as timid as a mouse and wasted five minutes of class time just coming up to the front. When he was handed the dry erase marker, he just stared at it blankly. His eyes flickered from the board to the marker in his hand, but other than that he never moved. Then a student yelled, "Get on with it!"

Hibiya visibly flinched at the harsh comment thrown at him and after that immediately started writing with a trembling hand. The only thing that student was punished with was a harsh glare from the teacher.

When Hibiya stepped away from the board, he immediately left to go back to his desk, ignoring the jibes and snickers whispered to him from both the rows he was between. Again he looked to the point of crying. In the end the answer was wrong and illegible to almost everyone due to the shaking of Hibiya's hands at the time. From then on he was pegged as being 'slow' and 'special'.

He also couldn't speak or, others thought, simply chose not to. To Hiyori, it didn't seem like the latter.

When Hibiya was asked a question and expected to answer out loud in class, he would look down at first. Hidden behind his bangs was a fierce look of determination accompanied by a mix of tears. Then he'd blink them away and look up. His mouth would open, but no sound came out. He'd open and close his mouth a few times, like a fish gasping for air, but still no words could seem to be formed by his lips, and his face would redden considerably. It was a sad sight.

But the most embarrassing thing that probably ever happened to him was in P.E. Of course Hiyori didn't know exactly what was going on in the boy's changing room, but she heard all kinds of stories about him getting his clothes stolen and him being locked in the equipment closet. And when he actually did come to P.E she saw that he didn't know what he was doing. He'd just continue to look down at the ground (it seemed to be his favorite hobby). A few kids would nudge him violently and pester him, but he ignored them. Later on the teacher decided to let him sit out since he didn't do anything.

To everyone he was just a destitute, dense, and dirty child. Everyone picked on him. Even some of the more decent kids felt pressured by others to do so. And Hiyori watched with frustration. She wanted Hibiya to do something, to fight back, yell, give the kids a taste of their own medicine, but he didn't. Amamiya Hibiya was as gentle as a newborn lamb, and just as timid and wobbly. It kind of pissed her off how useless Hibiya was for himself. What he really needed was a body guard.

Despite all her negative thoughts about him, Hiyori couldn't help but feel drawn to this pathetic, weak, little boy. It was weird. She just watched him, glancing at him ever so often from where she sat. Sometimes, she found herself wondering things about him. Mainly, where did he live? Was he really as homeless as people said? If he didn't have a house, where did he go after school? What about his parents?

He still wore the same clothes every day. It was rather disgusting when she truly paid attention to it. Sometimes she'd see him wear just his P.E clothes for a few days before switching back to the same blue shirt, vest, and shorts she'd seen him wearing the first day he transferred to their class. Sometimes the shirts were even on backwards and despite other students pointing this out to him, he would continue the day looking absolutely ridiculous.

His bruises had started to fade too. Hiyori didn't know why she found that a relief. The band aids on his face were now gone, replaced instead by splotches of dirt. The bandage tape was still around his arm, but nothing new had been added, she noticed.

Even though she continued to watch him, she'd never actually talked to him. She'd never greeted him or comforted him when he looked like he might burst into tears. No doubt Hibiya didn't even know she existed. And as Hiyori went through the same routine of school, home, and then school again, she wondered if she'd ever actually talk to him.

~0~

Tomorrow was the last day of school for the week, and, like all the other kids, Hiyori was relieved. Having a break would definitely be good after feeling like she'd done so much this week. The only thing that dampened her mood was that when she got home she would be alone. The whole weekend she'd be alone.

There was only ten minutes left in class, and at the thought of being alone, Hiyori turned around to look at Hibiya. Lucky for her the person who usually sat behind her was absent today and she had a perfect view of the boy. He was like he was pretty much every day, his vacant eyes staring down. The only different thing about his appearance was that his hood was pulled up over his mess of brown hair. It surprised Hiyori to see that, but even though hoods weren't allowed in class he still got away with it. It was just like how he got away with not having to wear a uniform to school.

It wasn't till the bell rang that Hiyori turned back around. She still had all her books and papers out. She made a mad scramble to stuff everything in her book bag. When she finished and slung the bag over her shoulder everyone was gone, even Hibiya. Hiyori sulked, she'd been hoping to follow Hibiya today, see where and how he lived. She could probably saw that sentence over and over to herself in the mirror, but that would not make it sound any unstalkerish. She slowly walked out, not in so much of a hurry to leave now.

Her house wasn't far from school. Her mother had made sure of that so when Hiyori had to walk home she wouldn't have to walk so far and would hopefully stay out of less trouble. Hiyori began to play with one of her black pigtails as she thought about how her mom was doing. The last call she'd gotten from her was the day before Hibiya arrived, and that was almost a week ago. Hiyori would probably have to call her this time, since it wasn't rare that her mom would be so caught up in business hat she'd forget to call regularly.

Hiyori didn't mind it though. It wasn't everyday her mom got to go to America. Besides, she knew her mom loved her, and when she did come home, all her time was invested with Hiyori. It was those two weeks that Hiyori treasured ever few months together with her mother. And even if it wasn't the ideal situation it was better than how things were before two years ago. But, Hiyori didn't like to think about that.

She was near to the back of the school, but instead of going behind it like a lot of kids did, her house was in the opposite direction. She'd just stepped onto the sidewalk when she heard a blood curdling cry. Hiyori froze in her tracks, mouth hanging open. Her eyes darted frantically around for where the noise had come from, but she couldn't tell as the echo of it had already faded. Just when Hiyori dared to move again the same cry came again, but this time it was cut off almost as soon as t started. Hiyori whipped her head around. It was coming from behind the school. Her body seemed to move on instinct because she threw her book back down behind a streetlight and started running toward the scream.

It wasn't till she was halfway to her destination that Hiyori realized she was defenseless. If the situation proved more than she could handle, she could get hurt or even killed. The though cause a shiver to course through her body, but still her legs continued to carry her with energy she didn't even know she had.

It shouldn't have surprised her, what she saw. In fact she should have known it all along. When she reached the back of the school, she turned the corner, panting violently, only to find that it was Hibiya. He was surrounded by only three other guys, but they were taller, stronger, and at least a year older looking than he was.

Hibiya's back was pressed against the wall. One of the boys was holding him there by the collar of his shirt. The other two were kicking away all these old rags away from the wall, spitting on them, and making snarky remarks.

"Say something." the boy constraining him taunted. Hibiya just looked at him, wide-eyed in fear. "Say something!" he demanded. This time Hibiya shook his head frantically. The boy appeared to get really angry, but he then let Hibiya's shirt go. Hiyori almost breathed a sigh of relief until the boy socked Hibiya across the face.

Time seemed to go still and unbearably fast all at the same time. Seeing Hibiya get hit caused a tightening sensation in Hiyori's chest, one she couldn't explain. At that same moment she let out a constrained, chocked noise.

It wasn't till Hiyori noticed Hibiya wasn't moving that a sick feeling grew in her stomach. _Get up, get up, get up, Hibiya!_ She screamed at him inside her mind. She wanted to run, to do anything, but it was as if her legs were frozen to the blacktop. He laid there on the pavement, the boy that had attacked him nudging his motionless body with his foot. The other two seemed to also notice his lack of motion and left the rags they'd been violating to see what was wrong. Even from her distance Hiyori heard one of them comment that he might be dead.

That snapped her back to reality. The frozen sensation in her legs seemed to fade, but she didn't move. Instead she yelled. "Hey, you bastards!" she screamed, trying to sound authoritative, but to herself it seemed to fail miserably, "Leave him alone!"

Either her voice had worked or the boys feared they might get caught if she saw their faces because they took one look at her and ran away. Hiyori didn't really believe in miracles, but that seemed to be one right there. When she was sure they were gone she ran towards Hibiya's crumpled body.

Her legs felt like Jell-O as she continued to close the space between them with every stride she took. Soon she was standing over him. Hibiya was in a sort of fetal position, his knees slightly curled into his stomach and his hands lying limply out in front of his chest. Hiyori felt tears prick her eyes as he laid there broken in front of her, but quickly she blinked them away.

"H-Hibiya?" She didn't know what else to say as she knelt down beside him. She called his name again, this time placing her hand gently on his shoulder to shake him.

As soon as her hand touched him, Hibiya immediately sat up, flinching away from her. His eyes were that of a frightened animal, well the one that wasn't swelling where he had gotten hit. Also his lip was cut and his nose bleeding rather heavily. He was probably waiting for her to start abusing him also. His bottom lip trembled and tracks of tears were already making their way down his face.

Hiyori tried to give him a reassuring smile as best she could. "Hey, hey, its okay." she said in a soft voice, "They're gone now. They can't hurt you anymore."

Hibiya looked at her with his big brown eyes still filled with unshed tears. Hiyori tried to widen her smile for more assurance, but it couldn't help but feel forced. "It's okay, you're safe now."

Hiyori was taken aback when Hibiya hugged her, his thin arms wrapping around her shoulders. He shuddered against her body and she knew he was crying. Hiyori had to resist the urge to gag. The kid smelled like he'd been living in a dumpster for weeks.

"Hey, Hibiya, it's okay." Hiyori said pushing him off her gently. He looked at her kind of confused for a moment and then wiped his eyes and sniffled.

"Hibiya what are you doing here?" She asked and looked at him expectantly. Hibiya didn't answer her, but then again, she hadn't really expected him too. Instead he just looked down, fiddling with his hands in his lap. Drops of blood started appearing on his blue t-shirt. Then after a few minutes he lifted his arm up and pointed past her.

Hiyori turned to see where he was pointing. When she did, she saw the pile of rags the other two boys that had been there earlier were kicking. She pushed herself off the ground to go take a closer look. And upon further inspection she discovered that the pile was actually two very disgusting looking blankets and Hibiya's P.E clothes. It suddenly dawned on her that this was his answer. He _lived _here, behind the school.

"You live here, don't you?" Hiyori turned to look at him. He lifted his head up to meet her gaze, and then nodded his head.

Hiyori couldn't believe it. The whole idea of him living here alone, behind the school, getting beat up every day made her sick to her stomach. She seriously thought she might have thrown up right then and there. Did anyone even know? Did anyone even _care_?

It was then that Hiyori made a decision. She turned on her heels and marched back over to Hibiya. His eyes widened a bit in fright at the fierce look on her face, but she ignored it and took one of his trembling hands in hers.

"Come on," she said firmly, "You're coming home with me."


	4. Come, a lullaby for sleeping at ease

Hiyori was half dragging Hibiya as they headed towards her house.

At the time when Hiyori had made the decision to take Hibiya home she'd been so dead set on it she hadn't really thought about what anyone else would say, or more importantly, what her mom would say. It didn't really matter at the moment, seeing as her mother wasn't even there, but what would she do after that?

Hibiya lagged behind her. He was about an arm length behind as she was tugging him along. He didn't complain or try to fight back. Hiyori figured he understood that she was just trying to help him. It was either that or he was too afraid of her to resist.

It didn't take long for them to get to her house, and it was one of those times that Hiyori praised her mother for looking out for her well being. She finally let go of Hibiya's wrist to pick up the key under the front door's welcome mat. For some reason her hands were trembling and it took a few tries before she was able to successfully fit the key in and unlock the door.

"Here, you can come in." she said and grabbed Hibiya's wrist, leading him in.

If it had been anyone else but Hibiya, Hiyori would have been self conscious about the state of her living place.

She wasn't a slob or anything, but there were obvious signs that a child lived there without much supervision. Packaged snack wrappers littered the coffee table between the two couches. A week old pile of dishes lay in the sink and her hamper was overflowing with clothes she'd procrastinated on doing. It wasn't that bad, but it wasn't the condition it'd be on if her mom was coming home. Most people expected her to be a perfect, responsible middle schooler, but really she was just like any number of her piers.

After leading Hibiya in, she let go of his hand and turned around to close the door. He watched her, his head tilted slightly to one side in curiosity. "Here, come." she grabbed his hand and started tugging him towards her bathroom.

"O-okay, um…." Hiyori bit her lower lip as she looked at Hibiya. He just stood next to the sink, his eyes seemingly vacant. "Um, t-take off your c-clothes." she commanded him. She tried to convince herself that she didn't mean it in _that_ way, but because of the immature chatter she heard everyday from her classmates her mind couldn't help but process it _that_ way. Heat crept to her face as she thought about if someone had heard her say that.

But Hibiya didn't seem to notice though. Instead he just gave what looked like a shrug and began pulling his arms out of the sleeves of his shirt. Hiyori quickly looked away from him, hoping to try and spare her virgin eyes. She concentrated mainly on filling the bath with water.

~0~

Giving a bath to Hibiya was like giving one to a toddler. Hiyori had had experiences with babysitting to earn a little money, so she knew how it was with them. Hibiya wasn't that different.

After she'd managed to get him actually in the bathtub (which was quite a chore considering she was trying not to look), his back to her so she could feel safe looking, she grabbed the cup she kept by the sink and started pouring water over Hibiya's head.

When the first wave of water when over his head, he cried. His arms flailed and reached out for something to grab onto in his panic. Hiyori felt bad for not warning him, but she'd forgotten he didn't quite have that much common sense to know little things like closing your eyes when water was being poured over your head. It took a few seconds of soothing words and a washcloth before she managed to get Hibiya to tilt his head back and thus avoiding the contact of water to his eyes.

But after only five cup fulls of water and running her fingers through his soaked hair, there was so much dirt and filth that the bath water had started turning a yellowish brown. Hiyori sighed, placing the cup down beside her and then unplugging the tub. The yellow-brown water went down rather quickly, and instead of filling the bath tub up again, she brought the showerhead down and turned it on. Hibiya jumped slightly at the sudden force of water hitting his back, but otherwise remained silent and in his slumped sitting position.

Even though he was facing away from her, Hiyori still tried not to look at his naked body. It wasn't really because of the earlier reason she turned away, but now she didn't want to see the remaining bruises still visible on his pale complexion. They ranged from the newer, dark purple ones he'd received today to greener, more faded marks.

Along with that there was the fact that underneath his clothes he looked like a person suffering from anorexia. She was pretty sure he wasn't starving himself on purpose. His ribs were startlingly visible, even from the view of just his back. She probably could have seen each and every bone in his body if she tried looking hard enough.

She tried not to dwell on it too much though. He was here and she was going to take care of him, which was all that mattered.

Hiyori reached up and pulled her pink shampoo bottle off one of the built in shower's shelves. It wasn't a shampoo really geared for boys, but she didn't really care and she didn't think Hibiya would either. She squeezed as much as she could out to fill her entire palm.

The overwhelming scent of vanilla seemed to fill the small bathroom as she lathered the soap into Hibiya's hair. It didn't take long for suds to accumulate through his strands of sopping wet hair and between her fingers. She tried to do it as gently as possible, but it was kind of hard with his hair in knots and sometimes when she pulled too hard she heard him whimper.

"Sorry." she muttered whenever this happened.

After rinsing the soap out of his hair she washed his back, neck, and what she could of his chest. It was all she allowed herself do without getting embarrassed. She then placed the showerhead in Hibiya's hands so that the water was spraying against his chest.

"I'll be right back." Hiyori said, leaving him there in the bathtub and silently praying to herself that he wouldn't somehow drown while she was gone.

The destination, her bedroom, was just across from the bathroom, so it didn't take her long to get there.

Hiyori quickly started rummaging through her closet, tossing aside clothes, hangers, and also mentally cursing herself for not being more organized. She was searching for something, something she had no great desire to wear anymore and preferably never again.

After what seemed like hours of searching she managed to find an oversized, white shirt that could reach all the way down to her knees. She hadn't worn it in months, so she felt it was safe to assume she never would again. Taking that and a pair of black shorts, which only had a few holes in them, with her, she headed back to the bathroom.

Hibiya turned his head slightly when he heard her come back in, but other than that he didn't move. Hiyori didn't say anything to him, but placed the clothes from her room by the sink and then picked up the clothes Hibiya had been wearing off the floor. She held them with her finger tips and away from her body as though they were toxic, which in her opinion, were.

Hiyori had never been so thankful that her mother and her owned their own washer and dryer. She threw the clothes in there along with the overflowing pile of clothes. She may or may not have added a little too much soap, but an amount she deemed suitable. When the washer started humming and rattling she stood back with a satisfied feeling rising in her chest.

She closed the sliding door to the laundry room, and headed back to the bathroom. Without even looking at Hibiya she turned the water off, causing the shower head he was holding to become utterly useless.

"Don't worry; I'm just drying your hair." Hiyori said in monotone as she wrapped the towel around Hibiya's head and began to rub his hair down. She tried not to be too rough in doing it, but still enough for it to dry faster. Hibiya all the while, remained as still as a statue. It took only a few minutes for his hair to go from soaked to mildly damp.

After that she laid the towel down on he floor, she motioned for Hibiya to get up. When he did she looked away and felt around for the clothes she'd rummaged for.

"Here. Put these on." she commanded, holding them out to him from behind her back. When she felt him take it she dropped her hands down.

The only sound heard was the rustling of fabric as Hibiya put on the clothes. Hiyori continued to look at the door with her back to him, until she felt a tug on her uniform shirt. She turned around where Hibiya was standing now fully clothed. The white shirt reached down to his knees like it did Hiyori and the black shorts were barely visible.

Hiyori narrowed her eyes studying his appearance. Based on his past, she took a step forward and reached out to pull the front collar of the shirt to see the inside. Hibiya looked down at her in subtle curiosity while she found exactly what she'd expected. The tag was sticking out in the inside of his collar.

Hiyori let out an exasperated sigh. "Hibiya, can't you do anything?" she mumbled the rhetorical question out loud as she made the boy pull his arms inside his shirt and turned it around so it was facing the proper way.

~0~

Hiyori tried to get Hibiya to eat, but the boy had refused silently. After eating herself, Hiyori guided Hibiya into her room and left in there while she went into the bathroom to change out of her school uniform and into something she could sleep in.

She had doubts. What was she supposed to do now that he was here? Was he just supposed to go back to living behind the school, with barely any clothes, getting picked on, and nearly starving to death? No. even if he couldn't stay here, there was no way she'd _ever _let that happen.

Why did she care though? The answer to that was simple. Any sane person would feel sympathy for him and want to help. But…. was it something more than that?

When Hiyori was done changing she went back into her room. As soon as she opened the door she stopped.

Hibiya was sitting on her bed playing with an old stuffed animal she hadn't looked at in years. It was a snow white bunny with no legs, its arms folded under is laid down head, with closed eyes. But it wasn't the fact that he was playing with the dust old toy that surprised her, it was the bright smile that was spread across his face. The smile was so warm and full of happiness that Hiyori felt like her heart would melt.

Hibiya suddenly looked up at Hiyori in the doorway, the smile quickly vanishing from his face, replaced with a guilty look.

"No it's alright." Hiyori said, "I don't play with him anymore anyway." She came and sat down on her bed next to him, tucking her legs beside her.

Hibiya looked at her for a second, his expression unreadable. Then a small smile crossed his face and he held the bunny up to her making it kiss her on the cheek. At least that's what she thought he did, and she blushed slightly.

Hibiya didn't notice the change of color to her face, and instead he yawned. Hiyori then looked at the time and discovered it was already eight o'clock. How had it gotten so late?

Without warning, Hibiya snuggled down on her comforter and placed his head in her lap. He continued to hold the bunny against his chest. Hiyori was quite surprised by the action, but allowed it. Involuntarily, she started trekking her thin fingers through his still damp hair.

It didn't take long till she realized Hibiya was asleep, his mouth partly opened as he breathed softly, but heavily, in and out. It made her smile and before she knew it, she leaned down, brushing away some of his hair to kiss him on the forehead, catching the faint smell of vanilla.

Out of no where she started humming. The song she hummed was of no significance as she was just making it up as she went along. "It's okay. I'll protect you." she said to the tune.


	5. Since I'll protect you

**So... Haha funny story, I actually thought this chapter was the last one i'd posted. I thought i'd posted this months ago but apparently it wasn't when i examined closer, and since i thought it was posted before my computer was wiped i never did save the chapter, causing me to rewrite most of it. Funny how life works, huh?**

**I'm pretty surprised so many people have actually followed this to be honest. Unfortunately the chapter after this is not even close to being finished and i have no set time for it, but i am going to finish this story. You can be rest assured of that. (Sorry this is so short btw and for misspelled stuffs)**

* * *

When Hiyori woke up her neck was stiff. Hibiya was still resting his head in her lap and cradling her bunny. She blinked her heavy eyelids and judged from the sunlight beaming in from the openings of her curtain that it was late morning, meaning it was time for her to get up.

Carefully, she slipped out from under him and threw the end of the comforter over him before stepping out of the room and into the bathroom.

It didn't take her long to get her hair and teeth brushed, wash her face, and change into her school uniform, so by the time Hibiya woke up she was already preparing breakfast.

"Good Morning." she said cheerily.

Hibiya didn't say anything back, but she wasn't really bothered by it in all honesty. He stood awkwardly in the entrance to the kitchen, his hair a fluffy mess and the stuffed bunny dangling in his hand.

There was a small table to serve as the dinning room and when Hiyori had buttered to pieces of toast, she placed them on a plate on the table. When Hibiya made no move to come forward, she motioned for him to do so and soon his was eating and had perked up considerably.

Hiyori watched him eat while nibbling on her own piece, her mind wandering.

Before she had fallen asleep she had made a decision regarding the poor creature she saw before her. A decision she was determined not to go back on, but there were quite a few troubling obstacles in her way she had to get through first and school was one of them. She already knew how she was going to overcome this one though. There was just one problem: Hibiya.

There was no way she could keep him cooped up in her house by himself. Who knows what he would get himself into, and there was no way to find a babysitter at this hour. It was truly a predicament she was in.

Suddenly, Hiyori had an idea. A terrible and cruel idea. She shut her eyes as if the thought was painful.

Grudgingly, she walked out of the kitchen and to her bathroom. Her eyes scanned through the contents of the medicine cabinet there until she found what she was looking for, and then made her way back to the kitchen.

Taking a spoon, she dipped it into the small bag of sugar that was kept in the back of the pantry. The pill was tiny, so she hoped Hibiya wouldn't notice it, but that's what the sugar was for. As they said, a spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down. Hiyori prayed that was the case.

"Hibiya." Hiyori said turning around. The spoon was in her hand and she was being careful not to spill it. The boy looked up at her, puzzled.

"This is good you want some?" she asked, feeling as if her voice was a little too cheery. Hibiya didn't seem to notice as he immediately nodded his head.

"Okay, but first, you need to open your mouth, like this." she said and demonstrated by opening her mouth wide, feeling like a complete idiot. Hibiya complied, mimicking her actions. Hiyori wasted no time in shoving the spoonful of sugar into his mouth.

"Wait, don't chew!" Hiyori said and held a hand out to stop him as she saw his jaw moving. Grabbing a glass and running it through the tap she handed it to him. "Drink." she commanded firmly.

Hibiya did as he was told, and more so, seeing as how he emptied the entire glass.

Hiyori breathed a sigh of relief at knowing he hadn't choked. Now she just had to wait a half hour till it took affect.

~0~

Hiyori was an hour late for school. Of course she had been late to school before, but never _this _late. She was beginning to wonder if Hibiya was one of those people that sleeping pills didn't affect. That would be just her luck.

They were sitting on the couch while Hiyori flipped through the TV channels. She finally stopped after going through the entirety of the list three times and settled on some anime that was on a channel. Hibiya was immediately enthralled.

But it only took two episodes before the boy started to nod off. She could tell he was trying so hard to stay awake, but then slumped against her shoulder.

"Hi… biya…" Hiyori struggled to push the small boy's weight off her, but couldn't help being relieved. He groaned softly, blinking his heavy lids.

"Come on." she urged as she grabbed his wrist and pulled him off the couch and too her room. She made him flop down on her bed, which he did without hesitation, curling up in her covers and falling back asleep.

Hiyori walked back to the living room after shutting her bedroom door. She turned off the TV and began pulling her shoes on. She felt bad about drugging Hibiya, but it was necessary for the time being. Lord knows she couldn't afford a babysitter. She picked up her bag off the floor by the couch, looking back once to make sure Hibiya was really asleep, and then locked the door after shutting it behind her.

Anyone could tell she was in a hurry. Her steps were long, decisive, and determined because Hiyori Asahina was on a mission. She was angry and that could not be tolerated either.

It didn't take her long to get to her school. In fact, she spent most of her journey there putting her thoughts in order, so when she arrived it didn't seem like very long to her at all and she made a beeline to the principal's office.

What was she going to do? Something not very smart really, but sometimes threats were necessary in certain situations - is what she told herself.

"I'd like to see the principal, please."

~0~

"_I am not pleased with you, Hiyori Asahina."_ Hiyori flushed in embarrassment as her mother spoke firmly to her on the other end of the phone.

It had only been two hours since she got back from school, so Hibiya was still passed out, and she'd only been home for a half hour. It didn't surprise her that her mom called so soon, no doubt she'd been contacted immediately after Hiyori left. So she'd threatened her principal with making her mom take away the funding for the school unless she got her seat changed next to Hibiya's and unless he got a school uniform and stuff. It had been for a good cause!

"But mom, you don't-" she started, but her mother silenced her.

"_And just when were you going to tell me that you had a boy over without my permission?" _he mother asked.

"Mom! It was just one night." Hiyori argued, "He's barely been here a day, and you didn't even see where he lived before. It was terrible!" She glanced quickly at her bedroom door to make sure she didn't wake Hibiya.

"_I already heard what happened." _her mother said. _"And though I don't approve of the methods you used, I know you did what you thought was right."_

Hiyori was pleasantly taken aback. She'd expected much more of a scolding from her mother until she finally consented, but now it all seemed much easier. "…Yes." Hiyori said almost hesitantly.

She heard her mom chuckle softly on the other end. _"Listen sweetheart, I'll only be gone a couple of weeks more, I'll allow…"_

"Hibiya." she offered.

"_Yes. Hibiya. I'll allow him to stay there until I get home. After that I'll decide if he will stay any longer. Alright?"_

"I understand." Hiyori said, "Thank you."

"_You're welcome. I'll talk to you later sweetheart."_

"Okay, bye." she said and hung up before her mom could even give an answer.

With a sigh she slumped back against her sofa, placing her cell phone against her forehead so it balanced against the curve of her nose. Well, now everything was taken care of. Hibiya has a uniform, he was going to sit next to her in class, and he was going to live here too. For now, at least. For some reason, that oddly satisfied her, and also, for a split second in the back of her mind, she thought, she wouldn't have to be alone anymore.

Immediately she took her phone off her forehead and placed it on the couch before getting up. Hibiya was still sleeping, face nuzzling the pillow and snoring slightly with her (well she guessed it was his now) bunny against his chest.

This was the boy she'd vowed to protect. He was weak, cowardly, and pretty much useless if nothing else. He didn't speak and was not the brightest star in the galaxy. Yet, Hiyori still found herself unrepentantly drawn to him. Maybe she just had a thing for charity cases she never really knew about.

She laid down next to him and wrapped her arm around his middle, hoping he wouldn't fall off the bed, and rested her chin on top of his head. She wasn't really tired, but she'd decided it would be best to wait with him till he woke up.


	6. So Just Ignore it, Ignore it All

It took longer than Hiyori wanted to get Hibiya ready for school. He had all but outright refused to get up when she told him to. She was sure it wasn't due to exhaustion as he had spent most of yesterday just sleeping. Maybe his insistence was fear of returning to a place where he wasn't treated well, and, though Hiyori understood, she had risked too much to let him stay sniveling away under her covers.

She spent so much time trying to wake Hibiya up and help him dress properly that she realized how behind she was on her own appearance.

Her uniform shirt and skirt were crumpled up on the floor in a corner from yesterday and because of that they were both littered with wrinkles. Having no time to iron the articles of clothing out, she put them on anyway, and even attached the red uniform ribbon around her neck to distract from it.

Hiyori ate her breakfast of cold cereal while untangling the knots from her hair, but only managed a few spoonfuls before it turned into a soggy mess. Besides, she didn't have that much of an appetite anyway.

By the time she was finished she was surprisingly back on schedule, but wouldn't be for much longer if they didn't hurry. But when she entered the kitchen, Hibiya wasn't there. His bowl still sat on the table and it was empty even being drained of milk.

Hiyori didn't expect it, but a jolt of panic went through her. There was no way he could have left. "Hibiya." she called, slightly shaky. There wasn't an answer, not that she was really surprised.

She took a second to place the bowl in the sink before heading for the living room continuously calling his name. If he really had left, and she ever saw him again, Hiyori vowed she was going to kill him.

He hadn't left though. She made it to the living room and there he was, curled up in the corner of the sofa in such a way that she might not have noticed him if she hadn't been searching for him.

"Hibiya…" Her frustration fizzled out and she took on the persona of someone more calm and understanding.

Hibiya didn't acknowledge her. His knees were drawn up to his chest, and his hands were folded and pressed between them and his body, like he was trying to retract into himself. His brown eyes stared at the floor, looking empty and lost.

She then placed her hand on his shoulder and he crumbled. Tears leaked from his eyes and he leant his forehead against his knees, whimpering quietly.

Hiyori kept her hand on his shoulder. "Hibiya don't… I know you're scared, but you don't have to be. They've treated you bad, but I've fixed it. There's no reason for you to be afraid." Still, despite her words, his shoulders still shook and he stayed buried within himself.

Hiyori scowled. "Hibiya. Hibiya look at me." she said sternly. Her fingers drifted behind his ear until they met the underside of his jaw and tilted his face towards her. He didn't resist it, and soon his dark brown eyes, still littering tears, met hers and he sniffed.

The sight made her heart ache, but she continued. "I promise, no one will ever hurt you ever again. I will protect you, so just ignore them all. They don't matter. Just keep your eyes on me, okay?"

Hibiya sniffed again and Hiyori offered him a small smile. The tears finally subsiding, he nodded. The corner of his mouth also twitched a bit and Hiyori thought maybe he was trying to return her smile.

Hiyori just shook her head slightly, dropping her hand from his face as he wiped his own tears from his face, and squeezed his shoulder. "You're so hopeless sometimes."

They were behind schedule again, but now, she couldn't bring herself to care.

When they finally did get out the door, they were two minutes behind and counting. Hibiya was also the slowest walker Hiyori had ever met, she believed. He didn't have a book bag she also dually noted and added it to her list along with other necessities the boy would need sooner rather than later. Luckily, Hiyori was able to drag him along enough and they made in time for first period.

Though she wouldn't admit it to anyone afterward, she was hesitant at the door to her classroom. Despite the fact she had taken the steps for being here long before this moment, it now dawned on her fully how much things were going to change for her and Hibiya as well; it was too late to back down now.

Hiyori pushed open the door and walked in with an air of confidence. She held her head up like nothing fazed her, in stark contrast to Hibiya, who was cowering behind her and averting his gaze from the faces of his fellow peers.

They made their way to the back of the classroom, ignoring the looks passed at them as they did. Hiyori had requested that her seat as well as Hibiya's be changed so they were near each other. She took her desk at the very end of the row, and, since no one would be bothered by it, she pushed it over till both hers and Hibiya's met.

She sat down and motioned for him to do the same, which he did. "Can you still see the board?" she asked. Hibiya gave a quick glance forward and then back at her and nodded.

"Good… I suppose we don't need to check out text books for you seeing as we could just share mine." Hiyori continued to think out loud and placed her chin in her hand. Though the teacher was lecturing, she doubted they could hear her from in the back of the room.

"I guess we'll also need to get you a bag for school. And your own shampoo. And we'll definitely have to fond you some more clothes. And a place to sleep when my mother gets back." Hiyori sighed; there was so much to do.

Hibiya sat in his seat and stared at her as she went through a mental checklist of the things she would need to do. He did this for ten minutes before Hiyori finally noticed.

"Hey! Pay attention to the board." she hissed at him. He did as she said and then she muttered to herself, "Lord knows you need it more than I do."

* * *

Unfortunately, Hiyori forgot that morning in her rush to make a lunch for herself as well as Hibiya, and because she was already going to spend amount of her allowance today on other necessities, there was not enough to spare on a school lunch. This was probably the reason she was piling package after package of instant noodles in Hibiya's arms, along with a messenger bag, a bungle of mechanical pencils, and various other items.

She knew they were not the healthiest choice, but at least for Hibiya they would do as the boy was still horrifyingly skinny. Plus, they were cheap.

By the time she was done, it seemed she had gotten every flavor including chicken, pork, beef, miso, and one containing sesame seeds.

"I think that's enough for now." Hiyori said, "Pretty sure we're good on this note." She was sure Hibiya agreed as his arms were full of stuff.

The walk home felt long and meandering and Hiyori felt relieved when they finally made it through the door.

She made Hibiya sit down on the couch with both her bag and his new one while she put the other groceries away, except for two packages of noodles in cup containers. Hiyori than began to boil water on the stove and then headed back to the living room. Hibiya was still sitting there.

"Okay." Hiyori said and clasped her hands together, "We should probably get started on the homework, whatever the hell it was today." She then grabbed her backpack and shuffled through it, pulling out the worksheets they'd received earlier at school.

"So, do you have any clue how to do this?" she asked. Hibiya stared at the sheet blankly. Hiyori took this as a no.

She sighed. "Okay, then… do you at least know how to write?" Hibiya stared blankly for another second and then averted his gaze.

Inwardly, Hiyori groaned. Again she marveled at the complete lack of abilities Hibiya possessed, and even more so at the school for not even attempting to help him in education. No wonder Hibiya came off as so useless.

She rubbed her temples, starting to think she wasn't cut out for this, but, again, she remembered she'd come too far to back out now. And Hiyori Asahina wasn't one to give up either.

"Alright then," Hiyori said in defeat, "I suppose we'll have to start with the basics." How the hell she was supposed to do that, she wasn't exactly sure.

Hiyori then grabbed the bundle of pencils and passed one to Hibiya.

"Probably need to check on the water first." Hiyori said, and got up.

The she had another though and quickly beelined for the closet down the hall. When she returned, she had a thin comforter, a sheet, and a pillow gathered in her arms.

"I think we should set up your new bed too while we're at it." Hiyori added.

There was so much to do.


	7. Time Continues to Continue in Tedium

Time continued tediously; almost everyday was the same.

Hiyori would wake up and then wake Hibiya whose bed was now a comforter splayed across the couch. After a hurried morning routine, they'd be out the door.

Hibiya still struggled in school and Hiyori tried to help him as best she could, but she didn't have the real patience for such things. It was a perk to be left alone by the teachers though as Hibiya aloneno one wanted to draw attention to themselves by acknowledging their existence. And Hiyori couldn't deny that being able to get away with something like this made her feel wonderfully devious.

This continued for the few weeks until Hiyori's mom came home, and Hiyori's mom _loved_ Hibiya.

Though Hiyori did get a softened version of a lecture when her mother came back, but even that all but melted when she met Hibiya. Hibiya, on the other hand, was a nervous the entire time, his eyes averted, face red, and hands fidgeting. It also didn't help that he was still mute, so it took Hiyori to introduce him.

Despite this awkward introduction, Hibiya quickly warmed up to her mother, perhaps even more than he did with Hiyori herself, but that was probably understandable as her mother expressed the same motherly behavior onto him that she gave to her daughter. Hiyori did not need to be babied at this age, but it seemed healthy for Hibiya to be treated with more affection and mothering after going without it for so long.

Her mother never brought up the fact that Hiyori exploited her against the school after that, and Hiyori felt it was because her mother was so taken with Hibiya.

Unfortunately, her mother couldn't stay home forever and eventually had to travel for work again, and it wasn't really until she was gone that Hiyori realized her mother's presence had given her comfort and a state of ease she hadn't known she was lacking. Hibiya appeared to miss her quite a bit too.

Hiyori also soon found herself stressing. She wasn't just looking out for herself, which she could handle, but now she had Hibiya, who couldn't really do anything for himself, to worry about also. Hiyori tried to make sure she never left Hibiya alone, if she could help it. The bathroom and boys P.E. locker room were acceptions, but that thankfully only involved one or two moments a day. They sat in class together, at lunch together, and walked home together. She worried about leaving him alone and agonized over what could happen if she did.

Most of the time, her worries manifested at night. With nothing else to distract her, her mind wandered and played over too much about these situations where Hibiya could be in trouble or be persecuted or what if was powerless to help him. It got to the point that she began to lose sleep over it, her eyes refusing to close as she stared at her mostly blank walls and ceiling.

It was one of these nights, when Hiyori was awake and unable to sleep properly though still be exhausted, that she was startled when Hibiya climbed in to bed with her.

Hiyori immediately sat up to see Hibiya burying his face in the pillow next to hers, and when her eyes adjusted, she saw his eye peaking up at her from under his ruffled bangs and the pillow.

"What is it? What's wrong?" she asked, her voice sounding rough and strange with her dry, unused throat.

Hibiya didn't say anything (of course he couldn't), but only whimpered softly and buried his face more into the pillow. He was obviously in distress, whether it was from a nightmare or perhaps a reaction to the recent departure of her mother.

Either way, Hiyori couldn't work up any initiative or reason to make Hibiya leave, and it wasn't like they'd never slept in the same bed before. Hiyori then just sighed, her own exhaustion starting to get the better of her, and turned over to lay her head down on her own pillow. In response, Hibiya cuddled closer to her.

It started to become a regular thing again, though Hiyori made sure it never happened (or they never got caught) when her mother came home to visit lest she suffer another scolding. In the end, it worked out quite well as the other's presence helped sooth Hiyori's anxiety and Hibiya was able to sleep peacefully.

At around that time too, Hibiya was learning how to write, mainly for the purpose of communicating rather than improvement of academics. Hiyori's mother didn't think it was a good idea to try and force Hibiya to talk if he didn't want to, and Hiyori had to admit she found the idea much more agreeable. Instead, they had decided to teach him how to write.

Teaching Hibiya to write was much more difficult than Hiyori expected. He did seem to be able to notice the differences between hiragana and katakana which was good, but his handwriting was messy and the kanji at times tripped him up. Her mother had written down small phrases and words that were basic enough form of communication. They also wrote both of their names down so he could recognize them. It was effective, but, in all honesty, Hiyori tried to help, but she didn't have as much patience as her mother did.

This was Hiyori's life. Nothing really changed except when her mother came and went. Hibiya improved in writing as well and within a couple of months was very apt at communicating what he needed. Things were looking up for Hibiya, and he seemed to slowly grow out of his nervous tucked in self. He was happy. And, Hiyori would be lying if she claimed this mundane pace wasn't enjoyable at all.

* * *

**Sorry for the shorter chapter and that it's kind of skippy... *time jump***


End file.
